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Sinking Funds & Why You Absolutely Need It
What is a Sinking Fund & Why You Absolutely Need One in Your Budget Have you ever been sidelined by a big expense that completely wrecked your budget? 👀Maybe it was a car repair, back-to-school shopping, or that annual membership you forgot about. That’s where sinking funds come in – your secret weapon to avoid financial surprises from ruining your plans. What is a Sinking Fund? To put it in the simplest of terms, a sinking fund is money set aside, little by little, for a known, upcoming expense. Examples of sinking funds can be: A sinking fund is different from an emergency fund because it is for planned expenses,…
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Budgeting on an Irregular Income
How We Budget on an Irregular Income If your income changes on a weekly or monthly basis, you’re not alone – and yes you can still budget. Keep reading to see how we budget on irregular income. There are months where the money seems to line up just right. But other months, we sit and cross our fingers and hope the timing works out. That’s the rollercoaster of budgeting – and living – with irregular income. And if you’re living the same type of life, with unpredictable paychecks, you know just how challenging it can be to make a plan that actually works. In our home, we juggle a mix…
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What My Childhood Taught Me (& Didn’t) About Money
The Things I Wish I Knew Like many of us, growing up I never really understood how money worked. I just knew we never seemed to have enough of it. We weren’t poor by definition. My mom worked full-time, and she worked hard. We lived in a lower to middle class neighborhood, I went to a decent public school. On the surface, things looked okay – but behind closed doors, money was always tight. Despite her steady income, we lived paycheck-to-paycheck. Family vacations were unheard of. Back-to-school shopping wasn’t exciting and filled with name-brand clothes and shoes. We didn’t eat out frequently, and we didn’t buy new things unless they…
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Before the Budget: The Shift That Changed Everything
The Moment I Knew We Needed a Plan I don’t remember every detail of the moments – or the life – before the budget. But I remember how powerless it felt. I was reactive instead of deliberate. I scrambled when all of the eggs had already left the basket, instead of planning ahead where the eggs should go. And I was hoping instead of knowing. The moment I picked up a notebook and gave every dollar a job? Everything started to change! What I Thought Budgeting Was Growing up, the word budget wasn’t just misunderstood – it was almost taboo. It came in with an air of restriction, stress, and…
Budget for Today. Thrive Tomorrow.
